An initiative by the UN and other groups is working to reduce
child and mother mortality to meet the standards set by the Millennium
Development Goals. The goals call for the number of mothers and infants who die
in childbirth to be
cut in half by 2015. From Cape Town, Voice of
America English to Africa Service reporter Unathi Kondile looks at the work of
the effort called Countdown to 2015: Maternal, Newborn and Child Survival.

The countdown is tracking and publicizing the progress of 68
countries that account for most of the deaths of mothers and children. Experts working on the
campaign say 16 countries are on track to reduce mother and child deaths – including Egypt, Morocco and Eritrea. But 26 of the 68 countries,
including South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, to name a few, have
experienced an increase in the number of child mortality rates.

Ann Starrs is the president
of Family Care International and the co-chair of the Board of the Global
Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health. She describes the situation in countries that are the focus of the
Countdown to 2015 campaign, "When you
look at Africa there are a number of countries where child fatalities have gotten
worse. Some of those countries are countries that are riddled with conflict,
HIV, or the health facilities are just overwhelmed with dealing with such
[a] crisis. There are also countries where there've been serious economic
downturns. So those countries where there's been a lack of health investments
are our priority."

As part of the effort to
improve the health of mothers and infants, the Countdown initiative holds
regular international conferences that bring together policymakers and health
care experts. One recent conference was held in Cape Town, South Africa. Starrs attended.

"We want the delegations to
look at the country-specific files, the data on what's happening or what's not
happening in their countries and to say, 'Okay we are really lagging at skilled
attendants on delivery. So we need to invest more on or we need to prioritize
on this.' And they can learn from each other, some of the experts that are here
and hear what are some of the strategies and use that information to really
make sure they invest more and that they invest more effectively – so that we
all achieve the target for 2015," she says.

Starrs says between 2003 and
2006, donors have increased their aid from two billion dollars to three-and-a
half billion. But health experts say that's less than a third of the amount
still needed to scale up interventions to promote maternal, newborn and child
health. They say investment is needed
in resources that will improve health systems throughout these 68 priority
countries.